Duodenal follicular lymphomas share common characteristics with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphomas
- Y Sato,
- K Ichimura,
- T Tanaka,
- K Takata,
- T Morito,
- H Sato,
- E Kondo,
- H Yanai,
- N Ohara,
- T Oka,
- T Yoshino
- Department of Pathology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medical, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciencies, Okayama, Japan
- Dr Tadashi Yoshino, Department of Pathology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Okayama 700-8558, Japan; yoshino{at}md.okayama-u.ac.jp
- Accepted 19 June 2007
- Published Online First 29 June 2007
Abstract
Background: Follicular lymphomas occasionally arise in the extra-nodal organs and are frequently found in the duodenum. They are often localised tumours with multiple polyps around the ampulla of Vater.
Aims: To examine a IgH/bcl-2 hybrid gene and VH gene to investigate the nature of the lymphoma cells and how they differ from nodal follicular lymphomas and MALT lymphomas.
Methods: Of 40 patients reported previously, 35 with duodenal follicular lymphoma were studied in detail with respect to clinicopathological characteristics.
Results: 37/40 patients were in clinical stage I (n = 30) or stage II (n = 7). Clonal immunoglobulin gene rearrangement was detected in 53.3% of examined cases, and rearrangement of IgH/bcl-2 gene at the major break point was detected in 27% of cases. Three of 8 examined cases were VH4 (38%); 2 out of them were VH4-34. As VH4 deviation is one of the common characteristics of MALT lymphomas and 2/3 were identical, duodenal follicular lymphomas have a similar aetiology to MALT lymphomas. Clinical course was also similar to that of MALT lymphomas.
Conclusions: Results suggest that duodenal follicular lymphomas have intermediate characteristics of MALT lymphomas and nodal follicular lymphomas.
Footnotes
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Competing interests:None declared.
